1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum washing machine which includes an automatically vertically-openable/closable door usable as a laundry holder when downwardly opened.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, for example, a conventional drum washing machine is illustrated which includes a cabinet 1, in which a tub and a drum are installed extending horizontally. An opening 3 is formed at a front wall of the cabinet 1 to communicate with the tub and drum. A door 5 is mounted to the cabinet 1 to open and close the opening 3.
The door 5 is hingably mounted, at one side thereof, to a portion of the cabinet 1 corresponding to one side of the opening 3 by a hinge mechanism 7. A handle (not shown) is provided at the other side of the door 5. In accordance with this structure, the door 5 is hingably movable when the user pulls the handle to open the opening 3 or pushes the handle to close the opening 3.
The door 5 includes an annular door rim 5a, and a door window 5b surrounded by the annular door rim 5a. The door window 5b is made of a transparent glass material, and has a convex structure protruding into the interior of the conventional drum washing machine to come into contact with a gasket 9 mounted in the cabinet 1.
However, the above-mentioned conventional drum washing machine has a deficiency because the door 5 cannot be fully opened where the conventional drum washing machine 1 is installed close to a wall W, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, because the door 5 is horizontally hingably opened. When the door 5 is partially opened, for example, the convex door window 5b is positioned toward the opening 3, so that there may be an inconvenience because the convex door window 5b may interfere with laundry when the laundry is put into or taken out of the conventional drum washing machine 1 through the opening 3.
After completion of a laundry washing cycle, the user typically takes the laundry out of the conventional drum washing machine. When taking the laundry out of the conventional drum washing machine, however, the user may drop the laundry to the floor because the laundry is entangled condition. Such a situation occurs frequently. Therefore, there is a problem because the dropped laundry must be washed again.
Also, the user typically takes the laundry, piece by piece, out of the conventional drum washing machine, and shakes the laundry taken out of the conventional drum washing machine to separate foreign matter, for example, lint which clings to the laundry. After shaking one item of laundry, the user puts the shaken item of laundry into a separate laundry holder (for example, a laundry basket), and then shakes another item of laundry. The necessity of having to use the separate laundry basket may cause the user inconvenience when taking the laundry out of the conventional drum washing machine.